I've been struggling so much on my DDs. This is week 12 for me, and I should be well adjusted to the 500 calorie days - I was, initially. After the first week or two, I was doing great, hunger wasn't too much of an issue.

But then I went out of the country for a couple of weeks, went off JUDDD for that time, just eating at meal time, no snacks. (no problem - I came home 1 pound under!)

I right away got back into the swing of JUDDD, but even 2 weeks later I can hardly bear it. My hunger is so strong, it's about all I can think of on my DD and I can forget being productive...
I drink my coffee with HWC in the morning, knocking off 100 calories of my allowance.
For the rest of the day, I just try to survive.
I usually try to wait till at least 2 pm after my morning coffee, because it's a LONG day ahead. When I do eat, I try to stick with high protein foods - but they don't go far
I've tried shiritake noodles - yuck. Can't go there.
Chicken bullion has been my best friend, but it still leaves me empty.

But this morning a light bulb went off! I remembered the cabbage diet from years ago, and even though I never did it, I have eaten the soup as a low calorie satisfier here and there.

So I made a huge pot at lunch. Chock full of low calorie veggies with a tomato based broth, it comes in at a mere 40 calories/cup and SO filling/satisfying!!

So I have hope now, that I can look forward to this yummyness on my DDs. No more fretting over what to eat. I also feel good to be eating all the veggies - even though I like chomping on raw veggies, they haven't been appealing to me on my hungry DDs.

I made a big pot of beef-cabbage-carrot-zuccini-tomato soup this past week as part of the SNAP challenge I am doing, and was surprised at how delicious it was. I think I will keep it as part of my Down Day repetoire.

Sounds good, and I need to make some of this! I have done a variation and found it very satisfying. I don't know why I have struggled and tried so many other DD foods that are 1) either too high in calories, or 2) not satisfying, or both. I really hate spending too many calories and still being dissatisfied. That really blows! Looks like I might be making this soup on Wed. Thanks for this reminder!

__________________

"Never give up on a dream just because of the length of time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway."

Bumping because I'm craving a nice cabbage soup. I'm dense though. If I make this in the crock pot, can I just put everything in and put it on low for 8-9 hours?

Yes, I think you could do that. I don't think any if the veggies listed would get too soft.
In my more recent soups, I've been adding a few more things. I add in a pound of frozen green beans, then either a bunch of kale chopped up (stems removed), or spinach (fresh or frozen).
I also have added 2-3 zucchinis, and really love them in there. I'm not sure about cooking them all day though.
As you might guess, I end up with a huge pot! You might want to cut it all in half to fit the crock pot.

Thanks ladies. I think I'm going to try this over the weekend and see what the calorie counts come to by volume (that's always the tricky part for me when making a large recipe). I'd love to have something I can just eat (drink, slurp?) on all day on a DD now that I'm going back to rotations. I love that I can add a little protein to it, by the bowl, if needed, too. Some cooked chicken or ground beef, should be a cinch to throw in.

Thanks ladies. I think I'm going to try this over the weekend and see what the calorie counts come to by volume (that's always the tricky part for me when making a large recipe). I'd love to have something I can just eat (drink, slurp?) on all day on a DD now that I'm going back to rotations. I love that I can add a little protein to it, by the bowl, if needed, too. Some cooked chicken or ground beef, should be a cinch to throw in.

I usually end up with about 40 cups, and a calorie count of about 45 per cup now that I'm making it more brothy. I might eat 6 cups on a DD and still be under 300 for the day!
I love spice, so I always eat it with a hefty squirt of Siracha or tabasco

I started mine out on high for an hour and a half, then put it on low for about the same. The cabbage was not softening at all, so I turned it back up to high and left it there - total cook time was about 7 hours - and it came out great.

ETA: I chopped everything pretty large, so that may have had an affect. I like chunky soups.

I used this recipe (minus the bell peppers-I just wasn't in the mood for them), and entered everything (by weight) into my calorie tracking app, and I got 28 cups (roughly) at 57 calories per cup. It didn't all fit into my 5 quart crock pot, so I had to do the crock pot and a pot on the stove, then mix them when they were done. It's quite hearty and the liquid is pretty thick, so I'm sure I could add some water to thin it out and reduce the calories, but I'm pretty pleased with 57 calories for a nice, hearty bowl of yummy goodness. I wasn't feeling great last night, so I didn't add anything else, but I have some awesome scorpion pepper sauce that I think would make it amazing. Maybe a dollop of NF Greek yogurt (plain) or sour cream if I'm feeling frisky.

I made soooo much of it, I'm actually contemplating having it for lunch today, on my UD, with some good crusty bread and butter.

Oh I LOVE Dave's insanity! There was a hot sauce store at The Grove in LA. I miss that store. I need to see if there is something similar here in NYC. I do love me some hot sauce...the HOTTER THE BETTER! There is a hot sauce at Mamoun's Falafel in the village that I love. Only 3.00 a bottle and pretty hot but NOTHING compared to some good Dave's Ultimate Insanity!!!

Oh I LOVE Dave's insanity! There was a hot sauce store at The Grove in LA. I miss that store. I need to see if there is something similar here in NYC. I do love me some hot sauce...the HOTTER THE BETTER! There is a hot sauce at Mamoun's Falafel in the village that I love. Only 3.00 a bottle and pretty hot but NOTHING compared to some good Dave's Ultimate Insanity!!!

Trader Joe's has a nice habanero hot sauce too. I use it a lot as well. I don't like hot sauces with a strong vinegar taste, and neither the Dave's nor the TJ's has much if any vinegar flavor. I just want intense heat with no aftertaste. I'm a bit of a freak for spicy things.

Slimming-up, I made the cabbage soup recipe from All Recipes that you mentioned and I love it! I froze in pint jars and find it's really handy that way. It really seems like a lot of food for 40 calories a cup. I've been adding Laughing Cow Cheese, an oz. of chicken breast cut up and 2 tsp. of Parmesan cheese for my DD dinner.

__________________Shirl

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

"You must do the thing you think you cannot do." Eleanor Roosevelt

"You can preach a better sermon with your life than with your lips." Oliver Goldsmith

Slimming-up, I made the cabbage soup recipe from All Recipes that you mentioned and I love it! I froze in pint jars and find it's really handy that way. It really seems like a lot of food for 40 calories a cup. I've been adding Laughing Cow Cheese, an oz. of chicken breast cut up and 2 tsp. of Parmesan cheese for my DD dinner.

I'm glad you are enjoying it and finding it helpful!
My DDs are so much easier than up days - I can completely forget about meal planning - for myself anyway. If only I could serve it to my family!
(they'll eat it, but then they need a ton of other food )

I'm glad you are enjoying it and finding it helpful!
My DDs are so much easier than up days - I can completely forget about meal planning - for myself anyway. If only I could serve it to my family!
(they'll eat it, but then they need a ton of other food )

^^^So true...I usually cook something on my UDs that we can both eat, then DH can have leftovers on my DD. Luckily, he doesn't mind leftovers. I realize it's different cooking for a family, though!

__________________Shirl

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

"You must do the thing you think you cannot do." Eleanor Roosevelt

"You can preach a better sermon with your life than with your lips." Oliver Goldsmith